NEW DELHI -- Will the Tibet problem ever be solved? The last several months have seen sheer despondency among the people of the plateau. With little sign of China granting them even a small degree of autonomy, let alone freeing them from its decades-old subjugation, Tibetans are now beginning to have serious doubts about a political settlement.
In recent weeks, this apprehension has been magnified with the Dalai Lama's disturbing public utterances. The spiritual leader, who has been running a government-in-exile from India's Dharamsala for 40 years, appears to have lost faith in himself. He said recently his best efforts had failed, despite telling Beijing that his countrymen would be happy with limited powers that would allow them to preserve their culture. China could manage Lhasa's economy and foreign policy.
Tibetans, both in India and in their own homeland, are understandably upset, for they had, till now, thought that the Dalai Lama would somehow manage a rapprochement. But with the man now turning 65 and exhibiting disappointing signs, his followers fear that the cause of Tibet could die with him.